ISEC's Groundbreaking Report, Ripe for Change: Rethinking California's Food
Economy

US Local Food Toolkit

The US was once home to a wealth of local food systems that supplied most of the food people needed from relatively nearby. In a process that still continues today, those locally-adapted systems have been steadily dismantled in favor of a centralized model that requires large-scale monocultures, the massive use of chemical inputs, fewer farmers and ever more transport. This shift is now a worldwide phenomenon that benefits the huge agribusiness and supermarket corporations that increasingly control the world's food supply. For local communities, economies, and ecosystems, however, this process has been disastrous. There is an urgent need for a shift in direction - to strengthen local food economies, thereby providing a cascade of benefits for consumers, farmers and the environment in both North and South.

ISEC's Local Food Toolkit is an education-for-action package designed to raise awareness about these issues and to encourage concrete responses. Using a narrated slideshow (using either PowerPoint slide presentation or a set of standard slides), an exhibition of eighteen color posters, and resource and action packets, the Toolkit details the hidden costs of the global food system and the many benefits of more diversified, localized food systems. It describes how we have come to be dependent on global food and outlines the steps needed to shift towards the local - at home as well as around the world.

Audiences with diverse interests and backgrounds in food issues have found the Local Food Toolkit "informative and inspiring!" Toolkit materials have been incorporated into classrooms and conferences; regular meetings of community, policy-making, and faith-based groups; and the ongoing work of environmental advocates and organizations involved with issues related to food and agriculture

ISEC staff are available to present the slideshow near our Berkeley, California office (contact us for details). Alternatively, the slideshow is available with an easy-to-follow narration for those interested in making the presentation themselves.

The large-format (18" x 22") full-color laminated poster sets are available on a rental basis for such venues as farmers' markets, conferences, businesses and community gatherings. A set of smaller 8.5" x 11" posters is also available for rental or purchase.

ISEC is also developing a more specific local food program for the state of California, including a report and other educational materials based on our recent publication Bringing the Food Economy Home (click here for information on ordering). These resources will provide an overview of the impact of globalization on California's food system, and will outline the case for localization given the state's specific social, economic and ecological context.

If are you interested in hosting a Toolkit event, displaying the Local Food posters in your community, or purchasing any materials, please print out our Booking Form and mail it or fax it to our office. Prices for all of our materials are listed below. If you are interested in books and reports only, please use our publications order form. Please contact us if you have any questions about ordering or would like more information about our work.

For information on ISEC events in your area, please see our events page.

For more facts and figures about the costs of global food and benefits of localizing, see our Factsheet and Global Food Index.

ISEC
PO Box 9475
Berkeley, CA 94709

Tel: (510) 548-4915
Fax: (510) 548-4916
E-mail: v.clarke@isec.org.uk

ISEC does not cover shipping and handling costs incurred for transport of the poster display boards.